Barrows: Some Tips for Efficient Runs

Summary
Barrows is a combat-based minigame in which players may kill the six Barrows brothers. Killing each brother gives the player a chance to obtain a powerful piece of Barrows equipment. This can be a fun and lucrative way to make money, as well as acquire useful armor and weapons.

Requirements
*Completion of Priest in Peril
*Partial completion of Nature Spirit (unnecessary if using Barrows teleport tablets or Barrows teleport portal in player-owned house)

Recommended Skills
50+ Magic
43+ Prayer
50+ Attack
45+ Defence
50+ Ranged
50+ Agility
45/50/70+ Construction

Transportation
Barrows teleport
It is highly recommended to have either Barrows teleport tablets or a Barrows portal in the POH for the quickest runs.
Shades of Mort'ton minigame teleport
The Shades of Mort'ton minigame teleport can be used; however, the cool-down time for each teleport is 20 minutes. Another method of teleportation will be required during the cool-down period.
Mort'ton teleport scroll
Although this teleport is one of the quickest methods, it is impractical because one Barrows teleport tablet averages about 25% of the total cost of a Mort'ton teleport scroll.
Morytania legs 3/4
Morytania Hard/Elite diary must be completed for unlimited teleports to Burgh de Rott.
BIP Fairy ring
A fairy ring (BIP) located west of Mort'ton is one of the longest routes, which also requires 50 agility; however, this may be beneficial for some due to Otto's Grotto being en route, which provides access to prayer restoration.
BKR Fairy Ring
A fairy ring (BKR) located inside the Mort Myre swamp can be used as a shortcut to the Swamp Boaty, which takes the player to Mort'ton.
Myreque Hideout Shortcut
The trapdoor on the south side of the Canifis pub, which leads to the Myreque hideout tunnel, can be used to access the Swamp Boaty shortcut.


Equipment:
Head: Ancestral hat > Helm of neitiznot > Berserker helm > Rune full helm
Neck: Occult necklace > Amulet of fury > Amulet of glory
Back: Imbued god cape > Ava's assembler/accumulator/attractor
Body: Ancestral robe top > Karil's leathertop > Black d'hide body > Any barrows armor > Rune platebody
Legs: Ancestral robe bottom > Karil's leatherskirt > Black d'hide chaps > Any barrows armor > Dragon platelegs/plateskirt > Rune platelegs
Weapon: Trident of the swamp > Trident of the seas > Iban's staff > Slayer's staff
Shield: Arcane spirit shield > Book of darkness > Unholy book > God book > Broodoo shield
Ammo/Spell: Rada's blessing 4 > God blessing/Rada's blessing 2/3 > Rune arrows
Gloves: Tormented bracelet > Barrows gloves > Rune gloves > Combat bracelet
Feet: Pegasian boots > Blessed boots > Dragon boots > Mystic boots
Ring: Archers ring (i) > Berserker ring (i) > Ring of dueling
Inventory:


General Strategy
By taking advantage of the layout of the brothers' crypts, we can minimize the amount of time and resources needed to kill each of the brothers efficiently.

Apply these tips for better efficiency:
1. Utilize a feature in the Runelite client called Ground Markers. When activated, tiles can be highlighted by holding shift, right-clicking the tile, and selecting "mark tile". The screenshots below show grids above each brothers' mounds. All of the highlighted tiles, including the area within those tiles, can be dug into with a spade to break into their crypts. Marking these grids will eliminate the possibility of using a spade on a useless tile.
Dharok

Spoiler:

Verac

Spoiler:

Ahrim

Spoiler:

Torag

Spoiler:

Karil

Spoiler:

Guthan

Spoiler:

2. Orient the camera where each brothers' sarcophagus will be in the center of the room before digging. Doing so will avoid rotating the camera while inside the tomb and wasting prayer. For each brother, orient the camera in each respective direction BEFORE digging:
Dharok - Face south
Verac - Face west
Ahrim - Face south
Torag - Face east/north
Karil - Face east
Guthan - Face east

The proper order to kill the brothers is mostly dependent on the method used by the player. Regardless, the most common rotation used is to first kill Dharok, Verac, Ahrim, and Karil (in no particular order) due to their high accuracy and max hits, followed by Torag and Guthan.

The Tunnels

Safespots
There are numerous spots within the tunnels that can be utilized to safespot all four melee brothers (Dharok, Verac, Torag, Guthan). The minimap above indicates where this is possible. The screenshots within the spoilers below show the exact tiles from which you can attack them from either a hidden ladder in a corner room or a rubble pile within a corridor. (Note: the yellow tiles directly adjacent to the doors are NOT safespots; they only indicate that the corridor within contains a safespot)

Northwest Room

Spoiler:

Northwest Corridor (West)

Spoiler:

Northeast Room

Spoiler:

Northeast Corridor (North)

Spoiler:

Northeast Corridor (East)

Spoiler:

Southwest Room

Spoiler:

Southwest Corridor (West)

Spoiler:

Southeast Room

Spoiler:

Southeast Corridor (South)

Spoiler:

Southeast Corridor (East)

Spoiler:

Drop Mechanics
The drop rates from the Barrows chest are heavily dependent upon three main factors: the number of brothers killed, the reward potential prior to opening the chest, and completion of the Hard Morytania Diary.
1. It is HIGHLY recommended to kill all six brothers prior to opening the chest. It is not required to kill all six; however, every additional brother killed earns the player another roll on the drop table. If all six brothers are killed, the chance to receive at least one Barrows item is approximately 1/15.01 (6.662%).
2. The reward potential is a number which indicates what items the player is eligible to receive from the chest. It is calculated by the sum of the combat levels of monsters slain in the tunnels, which includes the brothers. This number affects the types of non-Barrows items that may be received. It caps off at 1000, or 1012 if all six brothers are killed. The ideal rewards potential to acquire is 887 for consistent profit. The reward potential required to receive a key half or dragon med helmet is not worth investing the time.
3. Completion of the Hard Morytania will increase the number of runes received from the chest by 50%, which can make a significant difference in overall profit.

Reward Potential Statistics
Monster (Combat Level/Reward Potential)
Number to Kill For 881 Reward Potential/Number to Kill for 1012 Potential

Crypt Rat (level-43)
6/9
Bloodworm (level-52)
5/7
Crypt Spider (level-56)
5/7
Giant Crypt Rat (level-76)
3/5
Skeleton (level-77)
3/5
Giant Crypt Spider (level-79)
3/5
Ahrim/Karil (level-98)
Dharok/Guthan/Torag/Verac (level-115)

Item (Minimum Reward Potential Required To Receive)
Minimum/Maximum Possible Amount From One Chest

Coins (1)
1-5,306
Mind Rune (381)
1-2,889
Chaos Rune (506)
1-885
Death Rune (631)
1-578
Blood Rune (756)
1-236
Bolt Rack (881)
1-191
Loop/Tooth Half of Key (1006)
1
Dragon Med Helm (1012)
1


Tertiary
Clue Scroll (Elite)
1/33.75 (~2.963%) Drop rate when all six brothers are killed.

POH
Having a high Construction level is extremely beneficial to overall cost and time spent at Barrows. Listed are key items to have in a player-owned house:

(Level-45) Oak Altar
4x Oak plank
Prayer restoration

(Level-50) Teleport Focus/Teak Portal
2x Limestone brick
3x Teak plank
200x Soul rune
200x Law rune
100x Blood rune
Unlimited teleports to Barrows (83 Magic required)

(Level-70) Revitalisation Pool
1x Restoration Pool:
     Limestone brick x 5
     Bucket of water x 5
     Soul rune x 1000
     Body rune x 1000
10x Stamina potion (4)
Restores Special Attack Energy+Run Energy

(Level-82) Marble portal nexus
4x Marble block
2000x Soul rune
2000x Law rune
1000x Blood rune
Unlimited teleports to Barrows (83 Magic required)

(Level-80) Rejuvenation Pool
1x Revitalisation Pool
     10x Prayer potion (4)
Restores Prayer+Special Attack Energy+Run Energy

(Level-85) Fancy Rejuvenation Pool
1x Rejuvenation Pool
     10x Super restore (4)
     2x Marble block
Restores Reduced Stats (except Hitpoints)+Special Attack Energy+Run Energy

(Level-90) Ornate rejuvenation Pool
1x Fancy Rejuvenation Pool
     10x Anti-venom (4)
     5x Gold leaf
     1000x Blood rune
Cures Poison+Restores Hitpoints+Special Attack Energy+Run Energy

My Method
Worn Equipment

Head: Ahrim's hood
Neck: Occult necklace
Back: Imbued zamorak cape
Body: Ahrim's robetop
Legs: Ahrim's robeskirt
Weapon: Trident of the swamp
Shield: Book of darkness
Ammo/Spell: Peaceful blessing
Gloves: Barrows
Feet: Infinity boots
Ring: Brimstone ring
Inventory

Spade
Guthix dragonhide
Guthix chaps
Toxic blowpipe (mithril dart)
Prayer potion x 4
Pineapple pizza x 11
Shark x 5
Rune Pouch
Teleport to house x 30

Strategy
Transportation
Teleport to Barrows via Nexus portal.

Order & Methods
1. Dharok
Activate Protect from Melee and use Trident of the Swamp
2. Verac
See Dharok
3. Ahrim
Switch to Guthix d'hide equipment & Toxic blowpipe. Activate Protect from Magic and use blowpipe. Because Verac can hit through Protect from Melee, I can use the blowpipe's special attack to heal for free on Ahrim. I use the full bar if I need to heal, but I always use at least one special attack, regardless of hitpoints, because the special attack bar will be close to full by the time I reach the tunnels.
4. Torag
See Dharok. Prayer-flick to conserve prayer points if necessary.
5. Karil
Activate Protect from Range and use Trident of the Swamp. Prayer-flick if necessary. I save Karil for next-to-last because his set effect has a 25% chance to lower Agility by 20%, which can significantly affect the amount of run energy available for the tunnels.
6. Guthan
See Torag

Tunnels
When I reach the tunnels, there are two different ways I will navigate them depending on which brother I have left to kill.
1 (Dharok/Guthan/Torag/Verac). I make my way to one of the corner rooms and attempt to spawn the brother by repeatedly opening a set of doors where a safe spot is available on either side. If too many monsters are generated, they will no longer spawn; consequently, a different set of doors will need to be used in order to spawn a brother. Once the brother is spawned, I lure him into one of the safe spots and kill him with Trident of the Swamp. During this time and afterwards, I kill at least three skeletons in order to reach 887 reward potential. Navigate to the chest and open it for loot once all brothers are killed and reward potential is reached.

2 (Ahrim/Karil). If I have any remaining prayer points before entering the tunnels, I will either attempt to spawn the brother via doors or navigate to the chest as soon as possible before prayer is depleted. Because these brothers cannot be safe spotted, I want to minimize the number of prayer potion doses and food potentially needed for them. Once Ahrim/Karil is killed, I raise my reward to potential to 887 by killing three skeletons. Afterwards, navigate to the chest and open for loot.

Post-Chest Steps
After claiming loot, I teleport out via Teleport to House tablet. In my POH, I use my Ornate Rejuvenation Pool to heal and restore stats, and I use my Portal Nexus to teleport back to Barrows for subsequent trips.

This is absolutely stellar! I was excited to see you working on a Barrows guide when you posted your progress on Discord, but this is even better than I expected! I'll definitely be using this if I ever get off my butt and actually start working on the collection log.

Really great guide! I really liked that you included the useful Construction stuff applicable to Barrows; the pools are especially helpful, though I haven't built any in my house yet (wanted to raise my level and rehaul my home before that).

What method of order do you personally go with at Barrows? I've always found the most efficient use of my prayer has been to do Dharok first, Karil second, Ahrim third, followed by Verac. Depending the method, prayer level, and generalized luck, you could still have a teeny bit of prayer leftover for Verac utilizing that. Just curious what order you do/prefer while there.

i Kelly wrote:Really great guide! I really liked that you included the useful Construction stuff applicable to Barrows; the pools are especially helpful, though I haven't built any in my house yet (wanted to raise my level and rehaul my home before that).

What method of order do you personally go with at Barrows? I've always found the most efficient use of my prayer has been to do Dharok first, Karil second, Ahrim third, followed by Verac. Depending the method, prayer level, and generalized luck, you could still have a teeny bit of prayer leftover for Verac utilizing that. Just curious what order you do/prefer while there.

My order is usually Dharok->Verac->Ahrim->Torag->Karil->Guthan with Trident of the Swamp & Toxic blowpipe. I use the toxic blowpipe for Ahrim and skeletons in the tunnels, so any damage I may take from Verac has a chance to be restored with the blowpipe's special attack on Ahrim. I always use one special attack regardless of damage since I'm usually close to a full bar by the time I make it to the tunnels. I usually save Karil->Guthan for last since Karil drains agility, and having run energy up to the chest is vital. With 72 prayer, I can flick protection prayers on just those two brothers and not worry about the others and still have enough until the tunnels on nearly all runs.

I have updated this guide with information on drop rates from the chest, as well as a detailed walkthrough of the method I personally use. Enjoy & thanks to everyone for taking the time to check out my guide!

As a mid level player (still getting better at the game. I was absolute trash when i played back in the day) this is a great guide. I had a few suggestions however to make it more new player friendly:
1. Add details/list to show the item names of your equipment/inventory. New players may not know items by picture.
2. The recommended stats are low enough that almost anyone can go for barrows and I think that's great. But I think you should include a section on budget gear for those getting started. I personally am still only using Iban blast with rune armor and magic shortbow for ahrim.
3. Similar to 2. I use a ring of dueling and teleport to clan wars and use the free for all portal as an alternate spot to reset. Maybe add this to the transportation section or somewhere else in the guide.

Other than that I love the tips and tricks you include to really boost efficiency (as the post title says) !

chocxAddict wrote:As a mid level player (still getting better at the game. I was absolute trash when i played back in the day) this is a great guide. I had a few suggestions however to make it more new player friendly:
1. Add details/list to show the item names of your equipment/inventory. New players may not know items by picture.
2. The recommended stats are low enough that almost anyone can go for barrows and I think that's great. But I think you should include a section on budget gear for those getting started. I personally am still only using Iban blast with rune armor and magic shortbow for ahrim.
3. Similar to 2. I use a ring of dueling and teleport to clan wars and use the free for all portal as an alternate spot to reset. Maybe add this to the transportation section or somewhere else in the guide.

Other than that I love the tips and tricks you include to really boost efficiency (as the post title says) !

That shouldn't be an issue! Gear set-up and strategies appropriate for newcomers, veterans, and anybody in between are factors I have considered, and I plan to devote an entire section to it in the near future. Once I have an overall layout set up for this post, I'll include it alongside the names and relevant details of supplies/equipment recommended for persons of any experience. Thanks for the feedback!

Quite solid.

When i was competing in boss of the week, I used max mage except I used swamp trident instead of BIS staff. Since I'm nearly maxed CB, I could use 99 prayer on DH-Karil-Ahrim-Guth-Trags-Verac and just tank the tunnel brother with no prayer but I'd carry an emergency super restore in the event I had to go against DH and was low on hp. Once I looted the chest, I'd house tele, use ornate pool, and then finally use barrows Tele from nexus and repeat.

Of course, have high prayer is a luxury, but if you do have it, you rarely have to use food/restore supplies. I know people at that high of combat usually do other things for money, but if you have a near max combat account you can breeze through Barrows with minimal supply lost as far as food/restore pots go.

Legna wrote:Quite solid.

When i was competing in boss of the week, I used max mage except I used swamp trident instead of BIS staff. Since I'm nearly maxed CB, I could use 99 prayer on DH-Karil-Ahrim-Guth-Trags-Verac and just tank the tunnel brother with no prayer but I'd carry an emergency super restore in the event I had to go against DH and was low on hp. Once I looted the chest, I'd house tele, use ornate pool, and then finally use barrows Tele from nexus and repeat.

Of course, have high prayer is a luxury, but if you do have it, you rarely have to use food/restore supplies. I know people at that high of combat usually do other things for money, but if you have a near max combat account you can breeze through Barrows with minimal supply lost as far as food/restore pots go.

The recent Nexus update for Arceuus teleports was awesome for Barrows. I had just gotten 83 Magic prior to the update, and it's one less expense and inventory space to worry about with the right Construction levels.

I'll consider adding a note for Prayer because it really does make a huge difference in cost of supplies. Atm I have 72 prayer, and I usually manage to kill every brother before the tunnels 90% of the time with about 0-25 prayer points left (depending on luck) and the number of brothers I prayer-flick.

Thanks for the feedback!